On June 16, 1944, George Junius Stinney, Jr., a 14-year-old African American boy, was executed by the State of South Carolina for the first-degree murder of two young white girls. He has the indelible privelege of being the youngest person put to death in the United States in the 20th century.   At that time, George was small for his age, weighing approximately 90 pounds and standing 5'1".

The following information comes from accounts of the saga taken from court records and statements of those who witnessed important facts, such as George's siblings, and published in various articles on the Internet. There are many activists and attorneys advocating  to have this case reopened due to the injustice George Stinney suffered. Based on the facts of this case,  this child deserves to have his name cleared as he was not proven guilty of this crime.

On March 24, 1944, in Alcolu, South Carolina, the victims, Betty June Binnicker, age 11, and Mary Emma Thames, age eight, left home going bike riding and looking for flowers to pick. They passed by the Stinney property where George and his younger sister, Katherine, were tending their cow. The girls asked the Stinney children if they knew where they could find "maypops," a type of flower. The Stinney children indicated they did not and soon returned home where George's family insisted he remained and did homework.

When the victims failed to return home later that evening, search teams were organized by the towns people which included George and his father. At some point, George mentioned to a bystander his earlier encounter with the girls. The girls' bodies were found in a muddy ditch near the railroad tracks early the next morning. They had been bludgeoned to death with blunt force trauma to their heads caused by a railroad spike which was found in the same ditch a distance from the bodies.

A number of African American males were rounded up and questioned about the murders. Even George's older brother was questioned; however, he was cleared as he had been at work at the local lumber mill. As George had admitted seeing the girls, he was arrested within a few hours of the discovery of the bodies. He was locked in a room with several deputies who interrogated him. Within an hour, it was announced George had confessed to the murders. He reportedly said he wanted to have sex with 11-year-old Binnicker and killed Thames to get her out of the way. However, both girls had fought so he ultimately killed them both with a 15-inch railroad spike. Some accounts of the story allege George led law enforcement officers to the murder weapon. George was immediately arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

Upon learning of George's arrest and admission of guilt, townsmen threatened to storm the local jail to lynch him. However, before this could occur, law enforcement moved him to Charleston. His parents were not allowed to speak with him and did not know where he was.

George's father had worked for the local lumber mill but was fired from his job and the Stinney family left town that night as they feared for their lives. They fled to George's maternal grandmother's home located in Pinewood, approximately 20 miles away.

George was held in custody in isolation until he went on trial one month later on April 24, 1944. The trial lasted one day which included the selection of an all-white, male jury. His family members were not allowed to attend the trial which was reportedly attended by over 1,000 people, all of them white. George received a court-appointed attorney, Charles Plowden, a 30-year-old with political aspirations. He did not attempt to prove George's innocence. He called no witnesses on his behalf and did not cross-examine the prosecution witnesses. His entire defense case rested on whether a 14-year-old could be held accountable for his actions. The actual trial started at 2:30 p.m., and closing arguments concluded at 4:30 p.m. Thereafter the jury deliberated for 10 minutes, returned with a guilty verdict and a recommendation of death. George was summarily sentenced to death in the electric chair. When asked about appeals, Plowden stated there would be no appeal as the Stinney family did not have the financial means to pay for such a process.

After the trial, George's mother managed to get a neighbor to take her to Columbia to see her son. A terrified George told his mother he did not do it but there was nothing she could do to help him. When she left that day, George never saw his mother or any other family member again. His family was not aware he had been found guilty and sentenced to death.

On June 16, 1944, George, while clutching a Bible in his arms, walked into the death chamber where he was electrocuted. According to some who saw the execution, law enforcement had difficulty fitting him into the electric chair due to his small stature. Books had to be placed into the seat beneath him. Additionally, the adult-sized mask that was placed over his face slipped off after the first 2,400 volts were delivered to his body. His terrified, wide-eyed, tearful face was revealed as the electrocution continued.

After his death, George's family was allowed to retrieve his body. Upon seeing him, his mother broke down and stated, "They didn't have to burn him up like that!" George's family held a funeral and he was buried in Pinewood, South Carolina.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, "The moral arc of the universe is long but it bends toward justice."  George was not given a fair trial, proper attorney representation, nor the right to appeal his conviction and sentence. Moreover, he was not judged by a fair and impartial jury.  He was essentially the third victim in an already tragic situation.  However, the horrific murder of these young victims was not vindicated by this child's wrongful conviction.

The United States and the State of South Carolina deprived George of his due process rights; therefore, he was wrongly convicted.  He paid with his life which can never be restored.  The least we should do is correct the record and remove this conviction from the annals of history.  Justice demands we do so.